Korean Job Discussion Forums

[autoseal89]

I have accepted this offer but nothing is official yet. Some people have told me this contract is a load of crap and as I am a newbie I need some other opinions. I am starting to get a bit paranoid as I have accepted the job although not signed anything so I am not committed.

I thought it was OK to be fair, but would really appreciate any other opinions.

[/b]


Article A. (Purpose) This contract is made for the purpose of setting forth the terms and conditions of employment for foreign teachers who will teach English at Plus Academy.


Article B (Duties) Employee shall perform the following duties.
1. Facilitate English classroom lessons and activities by familiarizing him/herself with the provided textbooks, preparing necessary handouts and visual aids, teaching the plan to the students and answering any questions they have regarding the lesson.
2.. Attendance at teacher meetings and training workshops (weekday/weekend) is mandatory and does not qualify for over-time pay.
3. Develop teaching materials and lesson plans with Korean co-teacher(s).
4. Be involved in extra-curricular classes and/or teacher training as requested by employer.
5. Be involved in other activities relevant to English teaching. (Ex. Open House, Support regular class)
6. Editing and feedback of student diaries and essays must be fulfilled once a week.
7.. Employee must keep office space and classrooms clean and neat.
8. Employee will be responsible for daily upkeep of the supplies, materials, and classroom facilities.


Article C (Term of employment) The term of Employment shall begin on , ,2010 and end on , , 2011.


Article D (Airfare and Resignation)
1. If Employee should desire to resign during the Term of Employment, he/she must give Employer a sixty (60) day prior written notice of resignation stating the date of and a reason for resignation.
2. In the case of Employee�s resignation due to personal reasons, the airfare for his/her return trip shall be borne by Employee and his/her visa shall be cancelled.
3. In case of the termination of this Contract within twelve (12) months, Employee shall immediately pay back 100% of the one-way airfare to Employer. If Employee works more than twelve (12) months during the term of employment, Employee�s obligation to pay back the reimbursement provided pursuant to this provision shall be waived by Employer. If Employee does not give employer a 60 day prior notice, employer shall charge a penalty (amount up to one month salary) as damages for breach of contract.
4. If, for any reason, the employee chooses to terminate the contract before the full completion of the contract period, he/she will forfeit his/her severance pay, a ticket of a single passage to the employee�s home country. Also, the employer will withhold following expenses from his/her salary: airfares involved in a one-way ticket to Korea provided to the employee at the hiring process and expenses of sending the employee to the Korean embassy in Japan to complete the visa process. In addition, the employer will deduct the amount of utility bill, cleaning fee, etc. from the employee�s last salary. The employee must move out from the housing in 2 days.

Article E (Work Hours)
1. Employee shall work seven (7) hours per day (excluding lunch hour) for five (5) calendar days per week and shall not work on Korean national holidays.
2. Normal working hours will be from 02:00pm to 10:10pm, although working hours will be flexible subject to the scheduling needs of the school. Maximum workday length will be 7 hours, 5 minutes except for workdays requiring meeting or workshop attendance (see article B4 above). Classes and teaching schedules will be organized by employer and will be flexible in accordance with the special needs and situations of the school and children.
3. If Employee shows up late more than 30 minutes, Employer must give an official warning and the salary will be deducted at 15,000won per hour.
4. You can have any kind of part time job except during the working day and working time that you are under contract.


Article F (Salary)
1. Employee shall be paid 2,000,000 Korean won per month. However, the Korean income tax as required under Korean law shall be withheld each month from Employee�s salary.
2. If Employee is absent from Work without a prior approval, his or her salary for that month shall be deducted by the amount calculated on a pro rated daily basis for the number of unauthorized absent days.
3. Upon completion of a one-year contract, after clarifying the damage of housing equipment, facilities and utility fee with outstanding bills, Employer shall pay Employee thirty (30) calendar days� average wage as a severance pay for Employee�s continuous employment of one year.
4. Employee shall not claim against Employer any compensation and/or payment other than those provided for in this Contract.
5. Employee whose contract is renewed for a second term or subsequent terms may be eligible for an increase in salary. The increase is not automatic and will depend, in all cases, upon the Employee�s teaching performance and contribution toward the achievement of the educational goals of the school that he/she works for.
6. If the Employee fails to work the regularly scheduled hours due to tardiness, absence, etc.; the monthly payment will be calculated and paid using a daily rate and/or an hourly rate.
The method for calculating the daily rate: Monthly salary divided by 30.
The method for calculating the hourly rate: Daily rate divided by 7.
7. Employer will be paid a full month payment if the contract ends on the last weekend of that month or
last working Friday of the month.


Article G (Contract Completion)
1. The Term of Employment stated in Article 3 may be renewed by a mutual written agreement between Employer and Employee, provided that each renewed employment term is one year.
2. If Employee completes the Term of Employment and leaves Korea within 14 days from the expiration date, Employer shall pay for Employee�s return flight which is the most direct flights based on economy class or provide Employee�s return Airfare which is 700,000KW if staying in Korea.


Article H (Housing)
1. Employer shall provide Employee with housing. All efforts will be made to provide an apartment within walking distance of the school.
2. Employer shall provide Employee with housing selected by Employer. Housing selected by Employer may be, including but not limited to, a leased house, a studio-type room, or an apartment. Any and all fees, charges, costs, taxes, expenses, etc. incurred in using the housing shall be borne by Employee.
3. Employer may provide temporary housing until the appropriate housing for Employee becomes available. If Employer doesn�t� have to provide housing for Employee, Employer shall provide Employee with 300,000 won per month, as a rent subsidy, in lieu of the housing set forth in the foregoing 1.
4. Employer shall decide whether to provide Employee with housing or a rent subsidy. Once decided, Employer�s decision shall not be subsequently changed during the Term of Employment.
5. If Employer provides housing to Employee, Employer may provide appliances and furniture (confer appendix 1). Employee shall not request or demand any other appliances or furniture than those provided by Employer. Employee shall take the responsibility for the maintenance and repair for the appliances and furniture provided by Employer.



Article I (Paid Leave)
Employee shall be entitled to a paid leave for a total of ten (10) working days. Five (5) consecutive days may be taken at once when employee wants to use with employer�s agreement. The rest of (2)days out of five (5) days of Institute-scheduled vacation in the summer are counted in these 10 days. No vacation days other than those scheduled by the Institute may be taken during the first 3 months of employment. Employee must give two month notice to employer before he/she plan for the vacation. Saturday and Sunday do not count as paid leave. The Employee will be paid for all national holidays and not be expected to work during these days other than on a special occasion on which the Employee agrees to work voluntarily. Unused yearly paid leave may NOT be carried over to the new contract period.



Article J (Office Regulations and Restrictions)
1. Employee shall faithfully observe his/her Director�s requests on his/her duties defined in Contract.
2. Director shall evaluate Employee�s performance of official duties under a guideline.
3. Employee shall devote his/her full working hours and occupational attention to the defined duties in these terms and conditions, except for cases specially provided.
4. Employee shall not damage or tarnish the reputation of the teaching profession. Employee shall comply with and observe any codes of conduct acceptable for Korean teachers.
5. Without Director�s permission, Employee shall not be employed or involved in other paid business (including a part-time job).
6. If Employee has a contagious disease or other illness as set out in the following items, Director may prevent Employee from performing duties.
i. The fear exists that Employee with a contagious disease is not taking measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
ii. The fear exists that labor will significantly worsen Employee�s disease from which Employee suffers.
iii. Employee is affected by a disease as determined by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
7. Teachers must dress professionally at all the time. Acceptable attire for men will be dress shirt and pants. (Blue jeans in good condition are o.k)Women will wear a blouse and appropriate pants, slacks, or skirt.




Article K (Termination of the Contract)
1. Employer may terminate or cancel this Contract upon occurrence of any one of the following events;
a. If Employee violates the laws of the Republic of Korea.
b. If Employee fails to perform or unsatisfactorily perform any of the duties stipulated in this contract.
c. If Employee fails to perform continuously his/her duties for more than 3 days without any excuse.
d. If it is not possible to maintain classes due to a deficit operation caused by decreasing number of students.
e. Employee provides information on Application that is either false or inaccurate.
f. If it is determined that Employee is prevented from or incapable of performing his/her duties set forth in Article B- hereof for a medical reason, whether it is a physical or psychological ailment.(If requested by Employer, Employee must be immediately available for a medical examination.)
g. Employee refuses to cooperate with the management designated by the school.
h. If Employee fails to perform or unsatisfactorily performs any of the work duties stipulated in the Foreign Teacher�s Guidebook.
i. If Employee additionally violates the above mentioned articles after he/she has received 2nd warning.
2. In the event that this contract is terminated pursuant to the foregoing 1, Employer shall pay Employee a pro rated salary based on the number of days Employee actually worked for. In this case, Employee shall be responsible for his/her return trip to his/her home country. Employee�s visa will subsequently be cancelled.
3. In the event of termination of this Contract pursuant to any of the provision set forth in the foregoing 1, Employee shall immediately pay back the airfare to Employer according to Article D, item 4.
4. If Employee is sentenced to a term of imprisonment (or any other more severe penalty), Employee shall automatically be dismissed and Employer will not provide any financial compensation.

L. (계약 외 사항) 본 계약서에 규정되지 않은 기타 사항은 피고용자의 의견을 수렴하여 고용자가 정한다.

Article L (Matters not explicitly stated in the Contract) Matters not explicitly stated in the Contract shall be determined by Employer by taking Employee�s concerns into consideration.


Article M (Indemnity)
1. Employee may be responsible for and protect Employer from any liability or damages arising from or in relation to any negligent, faculty, or illegal activity of Employee during the Term of Employment under this contract.
2. Employer may check the leased facilities and financial matters arising from the use of them by Employee before the Term of Employment is completed. If any liability or damages are found, these may be confirmed in written form by Employee, Employer may demand further compensation. In case of protecting Employer from any liability or damages.

Article N (Governing Law, Language and Venue)
1. The terms of this contract and the rights and obligation of the parties hereto shall be construed, interpreted and determined in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Korea.
2. The Governing language of the contract shall be Korean. The English translation of this Contract is made for the purpose of convenience.
3. If a dispute or disagreement should arise in connection with or out of this Contract, the parties hereto shall first try to resolve it in accordance with a principle of good faith. However, if the parties fail to mutually resolve such disputes or disagreements or come to amicable settlements, their disputes or disagreements shall be finally resolved by arbitration of the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board.

[Geumchondave]

Im a newbie in korea myself but that doesn't look anything too shocking - I would try to negotiate for a bit more in terms of holiday if you can but other than that its not too different from a standard GEPIK contract

[TheUrbanMyth]

[WadRUG'naDoo]

Negatives:

You have to give them 60 days notice.

They don't have to give you any notice.

I think if they fire you, they'll make you pay back airfare, visa run, etc.

You're responsible for repairing any appliances (among other things) in the apartment.

If you don't give them 60 days, they keep a month's salary.

If they have meetings or some event on the weekend, you have to be there witth no pay.

No mention of overtime pay.

No mention of how many hours you're supposed to teach (that's like WTF?)

The salary is low as is the housing allowance. Pretty crappy. Especially for that many hours.

Correcting diaries and essays once week. Again, how many teaching hours a week? If you're teaching from 2 to 10 w/ an hour break and no admin time, when are you supposed to do that?

Reads that you can work part-time on your days off and then later mentions that you can't.

Positives:

Not sure

That being said, you never know. Seems to me that the salary is a no-brainer for that many hours (but what are they teaching hours?). And they seem a little bit to be picking a fight w/ you before you even start.

Mentioning that you may qualify for an increase in salary at an indefinite date upon an evaluation isn't really a positive. There should really be a probationary period. Like 2 months. After that, it'd be nice to get some sort of raise and a 30-day notice clause FOR BOTH PARTIES to terminate the contract.

There is no "Where do I sign and when do I start!" after reading this contract.

[fugitive chicken]

There is no mention of getting a pension. That is illegal.

[WadRUG'naDoo]

[jonpurdy]

It also says that if you are in Korea for less than 12 months and you quit, you have to pay back your first flight in full. This is garbage. Usually it's during the first six months.

[Summer Wine]

I wouldn't touch this job or contract with a barge pole.

Not even if the money was good.

Contracts are usually there to protect you if work conditions break down. This one leaves you with a ton of potential problems if they wanted to push issues.

How would you feel if after you arrived they determined that every saturday needed to be worked.

Don't also trust the teachers who are there to back you up. I have been screwed over before by both the Owner and the foriegn teachers before regarding saturday work and will never agree to it again.

Seriously, this is not a nice contract. I have been here a while and the number of times, contracts have changed because new teachers accepted working conditions and bosses in Korea went "holy shit, you mean those guys would take that" and then started forcing those conditions on all the rest.

Dont take it. I have been here a while and in some bad situations and I can tell you, they can screw you even with a good contract. Accepting one with that many flaws is just asking for it.

[Pink Freud]

Walk away.

[RMNC]

It never ceases to amaze me how many people accept contracts without asking anybody at all whether or not they're getting screwed.

You reap what you sow.

[lifeinkorea]

"4. Be involved in extra-curricular classes and/or teacher training as requested by employer."

"5. Be involved in other activities relevant to English teaching. (Ex. Open House, Support regular class)"

They need to define this or remove it. Basically, it amounts to free labor. For only 2 million, they are freaking crazy. You would be crazier if you signed a contract with this in it.

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"6. Editing and feedback of student diaries and essays must be fulfilled once a week. "

You need to find out how many. It's not that bad, but if you are teaching 30 classes a week, figure how many students total you would have to check. 10 or less would be my tolerance. Otherwise, it would have to be categorical and you would rotate. Have each class do a new topic each week and correct them collectively in class. See if the school would accept this approach.

---

"7. Employee must keep office space and classrooms clean and neat. "
"8. Employee will be responsible for daily upkeep of the supplies, materials, and classroom facilities. "

Not unreasonable on the surface, but I don't see why they need to spell this out in the contract. Are they looking for teachers to take out trash and clean the bathroom stalls?

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Article D (Airfare and Resignation)

"he/she must give Employer a sixty (60) day prior written notice of resignation"

"In case of the termination of this Contract within twelve (12) months"

Maybe I am missing something, but I never heard of a 12 month span for terminating a contract. They already said 60 days, and usually it's only 30. So, why are they now throwing in 12 months?

Usually, it's 6 months (1st to 6th month). After that they can't get their flight money back. As stated in 4, they don't have to pay for a flight home or severance (which they don't even need to put there).

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"7. Employer will be paid a full month payment if the contract ends on the last weekend of that month or last working Friday of the month. "

A lot of mistakes in this contract. It should be employee.

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"1. Employer shall provide Employee with housing. All efforts will be made to provide an apartment within walking distance of the school."

Ok, and if they don't, they should give transportation. This means reimburse you for bus or subway fare. They need to add this.

There may be more issues, but this is a handful of crap I would need to sort out and 80% of it would have to be entirely removed before I considered sending even a copy of my degree to them. This is a noose contract, tied and ready to hang you the moment you move into whatever apartment they would get you.

It shouldn't be hard to move on and find another school.

[EricOSU]

Hey,

are you using a recruiter? Which one? I just received basically the exact same contract for a teaching position in GwandJu. After also posting it and reading reviews of the school system it was associated with (Wonerland) I am declining the offer, which looks like a very wise decision. My g/f and I actually are applying jointly and both got the offer, and both declined. Best of luck to ya!

[natalia930]

out of curiosity - i know there is some wiggle room to make changes to contracts. is this a case of its so much crap that its not even worth changing? or might one consider accepting the job if they could change some things?